The In-Between and After: A Ghost's Story

The Decision

Robez, Shelby, and McGregor made to the relative safety of the city streets. With plenty of cover and side streets to keep them unseen, they made their way down the sidewalk toward the courtyard. McGregor could see that the Shelby was not enjoying Robez's slow pace. He kept having to stop and wait for them to catch up, he would tap his foot or feign looking at his wristwatch. McGregor, on the other hand, took pity on Robez, who never gave up and asked for help. McGregor was tempted to help, seeing how slow he was walking and how much he was shivering. Whatever Bigz did must have taken a huge chunk of the little spiragy Robez had left. He was already so close to dissipation before, now it seemed like any moment now he could blow away in the wind. Robez hands were gone and his feet were barely visible. Robez, as he walked would look down at his fading appendages and shook his head. But the one thing he knew about Robez was that he was stubborn and wasn't gonna go without putting up one hell of a fight. A few hundred feet later, McGregor had had enough. McGregor picked up his steps to get ahead of the group and turned to face Shelby, he and Robez stopped in their tracks.

"So, I think we need to talk" McGregor announced breaking the silence of the journey. Shelby just looked at him, he had a small smirk on his face. McGregor couldn't get a read on Shelby. He was slightly taller than average, but his thin lanky frame made him seem taller. He had long shaggy pale blonde hair and was sporting an unkempt scraggly beard. Seeing him walking through the town was almost humorous. He was suited for some Californian beach, with an unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt and swim trunks on, holding a surfboard in one hand and a joint in the other, not some grey boring midwestern city sidewalk. Also, He did not have the look of someone who was in real danger, he had that dumb smirk and his eyes almost looked spaced out.

"What happened back there?" McGregor's voice in equal parts fear and anger.

"A lot of things happened, be specific," Shelby responded jokingly and shot a smile at Robez trying to elicit a laugh, Robez was stone-faced.

"C'mon, what was Bigz doing back there? He almost killed Robez!" McGregor was not amused.

"A little late for that." Shelby joked again. This time Robez's lip twitched and the corner slightly upturned, which Shelby took as a great success. "That's what I like to see!" Shelby sprung forward and put his hand on Robez's shoulder. McGregor looked as if he was about to shout.

"You, my good sir, have experienced what we wanderers call a siphon." His voice sounded awfully upbeat for such a dire time.

"Whatever you call it, it hurt like a sonofabitch" Robez responded shaking Shelby's hand off his shoulder.

"A siphon, what is that?" McGregor interjected. Shelby let his head drop and he rubbed the bridge of his nose with his fingers. "Goddamned, homebodies." He muttered under his breath. He raised his glance to McGregor and brushed the hair out of his eyes.

"A siphon, young Mickey Gee, is when one ghost... steals the spiragy from another, often unwillingly and I might add, quite painfully. As our senior fellow, Mr. Robez might attest to. It's a well-known occurrence out in the real world."

"Why?" McGregor asked.

"Why?! Why do you think?" Shelby paused, staring at McGregor then over to Robez. Who both looked blankly back at Shelby.

"To live a longer life or to severely cut short someone else's"

"I meant why would Bigz doing it to Robez."

"Ahh, I see... That really would be a question for Mr. Bigz himself."

"C'mon, stop playing around, this is serious! Why do you think?" McGregor shouted.